Climate Change Briefing for Secretary Veneman

1
DOE 1605(b) Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Registry and
Recent USDA Actions on Climate Change
William Hohenstein Global Change Program Office
2
Directives to USDA

• The Secretary of Energy, In consultation with the
  Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of
  Agriculture, and the Administrator of the
  Environmental Protection Agency, to propose
  improvements to the current voluntary emissions
  reductions registration program under section
  1605(b) of the 1992 Energy Policy Act
• The Secretary of Energy to recommend reforms to
  ensure that businesses and individuals that
  register reductions are not penalized under
  future climate policy and to give transferable
  credits to companies that can show real
  reductions
• The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation
  with the Environmental Protection Agency and the
  Department of Energy, to develop accounting rules
  and guidelines for crediting sequestration
  projects, taking into account emerging domestic
  and international approaches
• The Secretary of Agriculture,to develop new
  targeted incentives for carbon sequestration and
  greenhouse gas reductions.

3
Timeline for Final Review and Release of 1605b
Guidelines
Fall 04

• OMB review of proposed revised guidelines
• Public review of proposed revised guidelines
• --DOE public workshop
• --USDA public workshop on agriculture and
  forestry guidelines
• Release of revised 1605(b) guidelines

60 days
Winter 04-05
4
Importance for USDA

• Provides landowners with a tool to quantify and
  record greenhouse gas benefits of actions such
  as
• Using no-till agriculture
• Installing a methane digester
• Improving nutrient management
• Managing forestland
• Provides opportunities for agriculture and
  forestry to
• Partner with industry
• Document benefits of actions for future use
• Link reporting with conservation programs, e.g.,
  CSP

5
Components of Proposed Revised 1605(b) Guidelines

• General Guidelines
• Initial draft submitted for public comment
  (12/03)
• Technical Guidelines
• Chapter 1 Inventory guidelines
• Methods for quantifying sources and sinks of
  greenhouse gases
• Appendices with detailed coefficients and
  protocols
• Chapter 2 Guidelines for emission reduction
  reporting
• Methods for quantifying and registering
  reductions in greenhouse gases
• Forms and Instructions
• Electronic and hard copies being prepared

6
Features of the Revised DOE 1605(b) Voluntary
Greenhouse Gas Reporting System

• Overall quality of reported information will
  improve
• Consistent inventory methods. Inventory method
  rating system to determine eligibility for
  registration
• Requirements in order to register reductions
• Large entities (emissions over 10,000 tons
  CO2/yr) must report annual entity-wide
  inventories of GHG emissions and sinks to be
  eligible to register reductions
• Small entities (emissions less than 10,000 tons
  CO2/yr) can register reductions from specific
  activities
• Aggregators can report emissions and reductions
  of other entities
• Pre-2003 activities Only allow activities
  beginning on 1/1/02 to be registered.

7
Reductions Can be Calculated as

• Changes in emissions intensity
• Changes in absolute emissions (if not resulting
  from declines in output)
• Changes in carbon storage
• Reductions Carbon stock year x - Carbon
  stock base year
• Changes in avoided emissions (resulting from
  energy sales)
• Action-specific emissions reductions (when other
  methods are not appropriate/feasible)
• Reductions associated with emission-free energy

8
USDA Contributions to the DOE 1605(b) Guidelines

• Inventory methods for agriculture sources
• Enteric fermentation
• Animal waste
• Rice cultivation
• Crop residue burning
• Nutrient and lime applications
• Inventory methods for agricultural soil carbon
  sequestration
• COMET model produces default sequestration
  rates
• Protocols for periodic sampling
• Inventory methods for forest and wood products
  carbon stocks and fluxes
• Default tables by region, species, management
  intensity, productivity class
• Measurement and sampling protocols
• Guidance on the use of models
• COLE model produces default forest carbon
  sequestration rates
• Methods for estimating reductions from carbon
  sequestration

9
Issues Related to Forestry and Agriculture

• How does the system ensure that reductions are
  maintained over time?
• How to ensure that land owners cant receive
  reductions by shifting practices?
• Can simplified methods be developed for
  sustainably managed forests?
• Should landowners be responsible for natural
  disturbances?
• Can landowners receive reductions for forest
  preservation?
• How should carbon stored in wood products be
  reported?

10
Next Steps

• Finalize guidelines!
• Technical Assistance and Outreach
• Demonstrations
• User-friendly manuals
• Training sessions
• Guidance to technical support providers
• Utilize USDA cooperators (i.e., extension
  service, state conservationists, and field
  offices)
• Continue research to improve measurement,
  monitoring, and verification

11
Greenhouse gases have been incorporated into USDA
Conservation Programs

• Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
• NRCS provided national guidance to make GHG a
  priority resource concern.
• New practice standards for digesters announced in
  2003.
• Tiered payments under EQIP will reward producers
  who improve nutrient management
• Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
• Secretary Veneman announced that USDA would
  target 500,000 acres (226,000 ha) of bottomland
  hardwoods under the CRP continuous sign-up
• FSA providing points for carbon sequestration in
  rating CRP proposals through the Environmental
  Benefits Index (EBI).
• Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG)

12
Greenhouse gases have been incorporated into USDA
Conservation Programs

• Conservation Security Program provides
  incentives for energy conservation and renewable
  energy production
• 500/farm for energy audit.
• Energy savings from conservation tillage --
  depends on level of reductions in soil
  disturbance Index, fertilizer use, and over-all
  energy use.
• 2.50/100 kWh of energy produced by wind, solar,
  geothermal and methane.
• 125/500 gallons (one bio-component of liquid
  fuel).
• Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency
  Improvements Program
• Competitive grants for 167 recipients, including
  35 manure digesters.